Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Movie Critique: Moon

Being alone in space is probably one of the most terrifying things to think about. With nobody to talk to and not much to do, it seems as though taking a job to be in space for 3 years would be a little crazy. But in this semi-realistic future Sam Bell takes this job.

The film proceeds to show Sam discovering that he is indeed a clone and that there have been others before him. When the "original" Sam and the new cloned Sam find a whole store room full of clones it seems as though nothing is what they realized. Interestingly enough the film has a lot of influence from previous science fiction films. The artificial intelligent robot that assist Sam is very similar, which is also comparable to the helping robots in Silent Running. However, this time around he is much nicer than Hal was in 2001. The geometric hallways, the feeling of isolation and loneliness, artificial beings on the moon; all these are comparable to the themes of 2001. Implanted memories in the clones is also comparable to Total Recall. All of these ideas just seem smashed together to create this new and fascinating film.

Another factor that is comparable to other films is the corporations influence in this film. The clones are dying every 3 years. It brings the same common theme of questionable morality into play. The last Sam clone even reminds the A.I. robot Gerty in the end that they are people, not programs. Even though they are created and cloned how is it right for this company to kill them off every 3 years of service if they have the same feelings and memories as the last one. Just like in Silent Running it seems to be more about a corporation making more money by being efficient than making the moral choice. We see the pain it causes Sam when he sees that his wife left him and in the end how she actually had died and his daughter is 15 years old now. That emotion is what makes him a person. It is not about whether he is a clone or not that questions whether or not it is right, it's the fact that he is a person with memories and feelings. That connection that builds throughout the film is very important. As a viewer, you start to feel the pain that you might feel if this had happened to you.

The film overall seems to be a breakaway from a lot of common themes in science fiction films. It is emotional, futuristic, and immoral in many different ways. That is what makes a science fiction film and in the end the good guy wins, so that makes us all a little bit happier.